ETTIENNE LE ROUX: Balancing growth and fiscal rigour could heal Covid wounds
With countries worldwide relaxing lockdown restrictions only gradually, the pandemic could cut global trade volumes by as much as a fifth
17 May 2020 - 00:27
The evidence is mounting that the Covid-19-induced crisis - a global as well as local economic one - will severely, even permanently, damage the fabric of SA's economy.
This brings into focus the importance of the government's latest fiscal stimulus package. The package is a must. But it will add to the government's debt load, which had been rising sharply even before the pandemic struck. Add to this that the crisis is obliterating tax revenue, and you reach a real eye-opener: SA, a country with emerging-market drawbacks, will soon also have to own up to a debt ratio of developed-economy proportions...
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